I have watched Hocus Pocus enough times to know that lighting mysterious candles is never a sensible shortcut. These 120 questions cover the Sanderson sisters, Salem, spells, cast details, and both movies.
The Sanderson Sisters & the 1693 Curse
Q: In what year does the opening sequence take place?
A: 1693.
Q: In what Massachusetts town does the story begin?
A: Salem.
Q: What are the three witches’ last names?
A: Sanderson.
Q: Which Sanderson sister is the leader?
A: Winifred Sanderson.
Q: Which sister has a powerful sense of smell?
A: Mary Sanderson.
Q: Which sister uses a siren-like voice to lure children?
A: Sarah Sanderson.
Q: Who plays Winifred Sanderson?
A: Bette Midler.
Q: Who plays Mary Sanderson?
A: Kathy Najimy.
Q: Who plays Sarah Sanderson?
A: Sarah Jessica Parker.
Q: What child do the sisters drain of life in 1693?
A: Emily Binx.
Q: Who tries to rescue Emily?
A: Her older brother, Thackery Binx.
Q: What animal is Thackery transformed into?
A: An immortal black cat.
Q: What does Winifred call her living spellbook?
A: Book.
Q: What unusual feature does the spellbook have?
A: A moving human eye on its cover.
Q: What is the purpose of the sisters’ life potion?
A: It steals a child’s life force and restores the sisters’ youth.
Q: What happens to the Sanderson sisters after the villagers capture them?
A: They are hanged.
Q: What curse does Winifred utter before her execution?
A: The sisters will return when a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle on Halloween.
Q: How long after 1693 does the main story occur?
A: Three hundred years later, in 1993.
Q: What must the sisters do before sunrise?
A: Steal enough life from children to remain alive.
Q: Why can the sisters not simply wait for another night?
A: The resurrection spell lasts only until sunrise.
Q: What does Winifred call Satan when she meets a costumed man?
A: Master.
Q: Why does she mistake him for Satan?
A: He is wearing a devil costume.
Q: What modern appliance does Mary use when no broom is available?
A: A vacuum cleaner.
Q: Which sister rides a vacuum cleaner?
A: Mary.
Q: Which sister rides a mop?
A: Sarah.
Q: What does Winifred ride through the night?
A: A broom.
Q: What song do the sisters perform at the town party?
A: I Put a Spell on You.
Q: What spell do they place on the adults at the party?
A: They force them to dance until they die.
Q: What recurring command does Winifred shout at her sisters?
A: Come, we fly!
Q: What does Winifred call a modern paved road?
A: A black river.
Max, Dani, Allison & Halloween Night
Q: Who is the teenage boy who lights the candle?
A: Max Dennison.
Q: Where has Max recently moved from?
A: Los Angeles, California.
Q: Who is Max’s younger sister?
A: Dani Dennison.
Q: Who is Max’s classmate and crush?
A: Allison Watts.
Q: What holiday does Max dismiss as superstition?
A: Halloween.
Q: Where does Max light the Black Flame Candle?
A: Inside the former Sanderson cottage.
Q: What has the cottage become by 1993?
A: A museum.
Q: Who knows the local legend attached to the former Sanderson cottage?
A: Allison, whose mother once helped run the museum.
Q: Why does Max light the Black Flame Candle?
A: He wants to impress Allison and prove the Sanderson legend is only superstition.
Q: What does Max use to light the candle?
A: A lighter.
Q: Who first explains Binx’s identity to the children?
A: Binx himself, after the witches return.
Q: Who can understand Binx speaking?
A: Max, Dani, and Allison can hear and understand him after the witches return.
Q: What do Max and his friends steal from Winifred?
A: Her spellbook.
Q: Where do they first imprison the sisters?
A: In the school kiln.
Q: Why does that plan fail?
A: The witches survive the explosion and emerge from the kiln.
Q: Who are the two bullies tormenting Max?
A: Jay and Ernie.
Q: What does Ernie insist people call him?
A: Ice.
Q: Where do Max and Dani trap the bullies?
A: In metal cages at the Sanderson house.
Q: What candy bar does the Master’s wife give the witches?
A: Clark bars.
Q: What does Mary think the candy wrapper is?
A: She treats it as a strange modern object and eats with comic confusion.
Q: What protective substance does Allison pour around Dani?
A: Salt.
Q: What does the salt circle do?
A: It keeps the witches from reaching Dani.
Q: Where do the children find their parents?
A: At the town Halloween party.
Q: What are Max and Dani’s parents named?
A: Dave and Jenny Dennison.
Q: What costume does Mrs. Dennison wear?
A: Madonna.
Q: What costume does Mr. Dennison wear?
A: A vampire.
Q: What does Max tell the partygoers about the Sanderson sisters?
A: He warns that the witches are real and have returned.
Q: Why do the adults ignore him?
A: They think he is participating in the Halloween entertainment.
Q: What does Dani call Max when she is trying to annoy him?
A: Hollywood.
Q: What heartfelt promise does Max make about Dani?
A: He promises to be a better big brother.
Billy, Binx, Spells & Famous Moments
Q: Who was Winifred’s former lover?
A: William “Billy” Butcherson.
Q: Why did Winifred poison Billy?
A: She caught him with Sarah.
Q: How did Winifred punish Billy after death?
A: She sewed his mouth shut.
Q: Who plays Billy Butcherson?
A: Doug Jones.
Q: What does Winifred order Billy to do after raising him?
A: Chase the children and retrieve her book.
Q: What does Billy cut to speak again?
A: The stitches across his mouth.
Q: What is the first word Billy says after centuries of silence?
A: Wench.
Q: Whom is Billy insulting when he finally speaks?
A: Winifred.
Q: Whose side does Billy ultimately take?
A: He rejects Winifred and helps the children.
Q: What happens when Binx is crushed by a bus?
A: He revives because the curse prevents him from dying.
Q: Who drives the bus that nearly hits the sisters?
A: A flirtatious Salem bus driver.
Q: What does Sarah sing while flying above Salem?
A: Come Little Children.
Q: What does her song do?
A: It hypnotically draws Salem’s children toward the cottage.
Q: What does Winifred use to track the spellbook?
A: A magical beam and her connection to the book guide her.
Q: Why can Max open the spellbook?
A: The book responds when he calls for help and opens its eye.
Q: What does Max drink after being captured?
A: The witches’ life potion.
Q: Why does Max drink it?
A: To force the witches to take his life before Dani’s.
Q: How does Winifred try to drain Max’s life?
A: She pulls his life force through magic.
Q: What prevents Winifred from finishing?
A: Sunrise arrives while she is outside the cemetery.
Q: What happens when Winifred steps onto hallowed ground?
A: She begins turning to stone.
Q: What happens to Mary and Sarah at sunrise?
A: They disintegrate into magical dust and light.
Q: What happens to Winifred’s stone body?
A: It crumbles into dust.
Q: What happens to Billy after the sisters die?
A: He returns peacefully to his grave.
Q: What finally breaks Binx’s curse?
A: The Sanderson sisters’ defeat.
Q: Who appears to Binx after he becomes human again?
A: Emily.
Q: What does Emily tell Thackery at the end?
A: It is time to go home.
Q: Who witnesses Binx’s farewell to Emily?
A: Max, Dani, and Allison.
Q: What glows at the Sanderson cottage after the heroes leave?
A: The spellbook’s eye opens again.
Q: What happens to Jay and Ice during the closing credits?
A: They are still trapped in their cages, singing to pass the time.
Q: What song does Sarah sing in the opening flashback?
A: Come Little Children, also known by fans through its haunting refrain.
Cast, Production, Sequel & Hard Hocus Pocus Trivia
Q: What final burst of light destroys the sisters?
A: The rising sun ends their borrowed night of life.
Q: In what year was Hocus Pocus released?
A: 1993.
Q: Which company released the movie?
A: Walt Disney Pictures.
Q: Who directed Hocus Pocus?
A: Kenny Ortega.
Q: Who wrote the screenplay?
A: Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert received screenplay credit.
Q: Who conceived the original story?
A: David Kirschner.
Q: Who composed the film’s score?
A: John Debney.
Q: Who plays Max Dennison?
A: Omri Katz.
Q: Who plays Dani Dennison?
A: Thora Birch.
Q: Who plays Allison?
A: Vinessa Shaw.
Q: Who voices Thackery Binx as a cat?
A: Jason Marsden.
Q: Who plays human Thackery Binx?
A: Sean Murray.
Q: Which actor supplied Binx’s speaking voice instead of Sean Murray?
A: Jason Marsden.
Q: Where was much of the movie filmed?
A: Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts, plus studio work in California.
Q: What famous Salem location served as Allison’s house?
A: The Ropes Mansion.
Q: What Salem cemetery appears early in Max’s story?
A: Old Burial Hill in nearby Marblehead was used for the cemetery sequence.
Q: In what month did Hocus Pocus originally open in theaters?
A: July 1993, several months before Halloween.
Q: How did Hocus Pocus grow from a modest theatrical performer into a seasonal favorite?
A: Television broadcasts, home video, and annual October viewing steadily built its audience.
Q: What annual programming tradition helped build its following?
A: Frequent October broadcasts, especially on Disney-owned channels.
Q: When did Hocus Pocus 2 premiere?
A: 2022.
Q: On what service did the sequel debut?
A: Disney+.
Q: Who directed Hocus Pocus 2?
A: Anne Fletcher.
Q: Which original trio returns for the sequel?
A: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy.
Q: What three teenagers become central to the sequel?
A: Becca, Izzy, and Cassie.
Q: Who gives Becca and Izzy a candle?
A: Gilbert, the owner of the magic shop.
Q: What business occupies the Sanderson cottage in the sequel?
A: The Olde Salem Magic Shoppe.
Q: What happens on Becca’s sixteenth birthday?
A: She discovers that she has magical powers.
Q: Who is the mayor of Salem in the sequel?
A: Jefry Traske.
Q: What snack is Mayor Traske determined to buy?
A: A caramel apple.
Q: Who is Mother Witch?
A: The powerful witch who gives young Winifred the spellbook.
How Did You Score?
If you remembered the Black Flame Candle, the salt circle, Billy’s insult, the museum gift shop, and Mother Witch without peeking, you clearly run amok with the best of them. I would trust you with the spellbook, although absolutely not with the candle.
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